Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong will not sign a joint statement opposing “unprecedented government overreach” in American higher education, confirmed by University Spokesperson Matt Lazier Wednesday. The overreach refers to the unrelenting power the Trump administration wields over universities for what it said are inadequate responses to rising antisemitism.
“Cal Poly cares deeply about its programming, faculty and academic freedom,” Lazier said in an email to Mustang News. “However, the university has no role in determining public policy and therefore will not be signing on to the letter.”
The statement represents a unified condemnation of the challenges universities face under the Trump administration. Over 400 presidents and leaders at institutions of higher education have signed this statement from the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), published Tuesday morning.
Cal Poly joins a growing number of universities under fire for their handling of antisemitism and pro-Palestinian activism. Some institutions have seen federal funding freezes and demands for institutional reform.
On May 7, Armstrong will testify in front of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce to discuss the state of antisemitism on campus. Armstrong will become one of ten current and former university leaders who have been called to testify, joining the likes of Columbia University and Harvard University.
Top leaders of universities brought to testify about antisemitism on campus signed this statement, except Cal Poly and DePaul University.
The statement conveys that American universities aim to be beacons of free speech, economic mobility and innovation, but these roles are now threatened by federal actions.
Fifteen Cal State campus presidents and nine UC campus chancellors have signed the statement as of Thursday morning. UCLA is the only California public university that signed on and was also involved in a previous antisemitism hearing from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
A day before the statement was released, Harvard University President Alan Garber defied the Trump administration in a campuswide message on Monday. The message catalyzed presidents from Princeton, Stanford and Columbia universities to resist as well, The Harvard Crimson reported. In response, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard. Harvard has since filed a lawsuit over attempts to limit campus activism, the Associated Press reported.
AAC&U initially closed signatures Monday night but roughly 200 signatures have been added since the statement’s initial publication.